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by 9NRtKyP4 2528 days ago
> I would suggest, as a more hopeful-looking idea for getting an improved quantum theory, that one take as basis the theory of functions of a complex variable.

Nailed it.

1 comments

Quantum physics is based on complex Hilbert spaces. This is quite different to the theory of functions of a complex variable. I think Dirac was just making s!!t up here.

But anyway, by now modern theoretical physics has hoovered up quite a lot of 19th century pure mathematics, including this theory mentioned by Dirac. Specifically I'm thinking of things like conformal field theory.